Leading up to the Boulder City Council's decision whether to establish a sister-city relationship with the Palestinian city of Nablus, officials have received nearly 400 emails about the proposal.

Of the emails released by Boulder officials, about 57 percent were in opposition to establishing the West Bank town as a sister city.

The meeting is at 5 p.m. Monday at the Boulder Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway. Mayor Matt Appelbaum said the council could approve or deny the relationship, or request additional information.

Boulder's sister-city guidelines say the agreements don't mean the city endorses political actions of the cities.

Those behind the Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project have been working for two years to put it together, saying it could bridge cultures and make residents informal diplomats. But those in opposition say Boulder shouldn't enter into the Middle East conflict.

"I think it's too hot," said Shelli Graff Angel, who is among the hundreds to write letters to the city. "I think it will inflame our already-divided populace on the issue."

She said if Boulder adopted Nablus as a sister city, the deep division of residents would be antithetical to the purpose of the program. In her letter, she raised concerns about violence against women and persecution of gays and lesbians in Nablus.

Advertisement

Boulder Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel -- whose first stint on the City Council was from 1995 to 2003 -- said Boulder's sister-city applications have garnered controversy in the past, pointing to political upheaval in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Jalapa, Nicaragua; Lhasa, Tibet; and Yateras, Cuba.

"We only have seven sister cities, and four out of the seven have been very controversial," she said. "I'm all about peace and all about trying to connect with other people. I think the best way you can connect is through meeting people who might not be your friend and trying to get them to understand who you are, and in doing that, you try to understand who they are. I will go into this hearing both sides, but I think there's a lot of good in the Nablus proposal."

Gordon Pedrow, retired Longmont city manager, is among the supporters of the Nablus sister-city proposal.

"I'm surprised and shocked that there's so much of an emotional response to the idea of developing a friendship between cities," Pedrow said.

He said he thinks, if approved, the program would "bring people together and promote understanding in a part of the world that needs more understanding." He also pointed to similarities between Boulder and Nablus -- they are similar in size, and both are home to universities.

Boulder City Councilman Macon Cowles recalls Boulder entering a sister-city partnership with Jalapa in 1984, a period that was controversial because of the U.S.-backed "contra" counter-insurgency in Nicaragua.

Cowles said he has not made up his mind whether he'll support the Nablus proposal.

"This is not going to be a decision that resolves the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is a bleeding wound," he said.

Among the notable letters submitted to the City Council is one from U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, on Feb. 27, saying he "whole-heartedly" supports the project and Boulder residents could use it as an opportunity to learn more about Nablus through volunteer brigades, delegations and summer internships.

But a couple of weeks later, a Polis spokesman sent the council members a letter asking them to withdraw the congressman's letter of support. The follow-up letter said while Polis has been a strong supporter of the sister-city program, he takes no position on proposed projects and the letter was sent "due to a staff error."

Mayor Appelbaum said he thinks the city should try to ensure that the sister-city relationships are "people to people" and minimize the politics of forming the relationships.

"You can't entirely get politics out of every sister-city relationship," he said. "This one presents some challenges. It's a difficult one."

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story